The Happy List (Continued)

Here's another ten minutes of the happy list.

sunshine
purple flowers
dancing
coffee in the morning
comfy couches
discoveries
watching gymnastics
arriving at Tachi's house
sailing

(amazement right now as I notice Helena do a killer front flip on the floor - sorry)

people who have great laughs
being left-handed
being in places where I haven't been in a long time
mosaic floors
the Roman skyline (from any angle)
the combination of pizza and beer
bluebonnets in Texas
organizing closets (an activity I don't get the opportunity to do)
throwing things away
children in seersucker
quilts
giving good advice
making new friends
my kids

OK, that's 23. It's getting harder.

A Mighty Fine American Idol Finale

This was by far one of the best American Idol seasons ever, matching season two as my personal favorite. And topping this year's competition was one of the best "coronation moments" of them all. Only Kelly Clarkson's made me cry more. Earlier I mentioned how David Cook cries like a man, but I couldn't find a picture. Here you can see him in action. I had wondered whether he really wanted to win. I guess he did. Look how happy he is toward the end of the song.



There's so much I could say about American Idol, how much I love it, how much I think it needs to change, how much I can't wait for it to start all over again. But, as one of my friends says, in the online universe there are those who are producers and those who are consumers. I'm a consumer. And when it comes to AI, I waste what would otherwise be good blogging time reading other people's opinions and blogs instead of producing my own. Among the far-too-numerous producers out there I have a favorite columnist whose review of the final is reflective and funny, and I love one hilarious blogger, who is a little R-rated, so I'll keep her to myself!

Top two moments for me, besides the above:

David Cook going back to his bar-band-playing roots with ZZ Top:



An exquisite, if just a tiny bit slow, performance by a fossil-esque George Michael. Man, that guy can REALLY sing!



Here's to another great year!!!

Don't Let the Sun Go Down On

Clay Aiken.

I've been thinking a lot these days about how good Clay Aiken was compared to David Archuleta. Here's a perfect opportunity to prove my point. This performance occurred during the "wildcard" night, at the very beginning of the season. Notice Clay's polish, poise, control, and maturity:



Now look at David in the finals doing this song. Ok, he didn't pick it for himself, but I expect some growth through the season, and I saw very little. He did emote way more than usual, so I congratulate him for that, but the performance seems anemic and strained:

Is This the Year Idol Grows Up?

I'm writing this with the odd combination of feeling like the junkie who is relieved to finally be throwing off the chains of addiction and bound by the craving of just one more hit. OK, really I'm craving more David Cook. I know, I know, he'll be plastered all over every entertainment show, have numerous hit records, get the media saturation he rightly deserves. But he won't be doing any more classic songs on that inimitable AI stage with the camera staring at him while he returns the favor to millions of swooning women.

But on to the final...

First of all, kudos to David Cook for not turning the AI final into another melismatic schmaltzfest. He did three rock songs, with nary a hint of balladeering in sight. We got a serious rock anthem out of him when he tackled U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." This performance made me listen to that song in a completely new way, and, man, that boy has some singing chops if I ever heard it. Yeah, it's not melodic, but, if he can manage to get some good rock anthems written for him, we'll be hearing that guy on our radios when I'm in a nursing home.



Second song is typically known as the torture ballad. I dreaded the "American Idol Songwriter" song, and was relieved that they didn't foist something embarrassing on him. It wasn't a great song. But he didn't make a fool out of himself, either. We got a passable rock ditty without giving it too much meaning. Whew!

Third song, and, shocker of shockers, he didn't recycle a performance from the past. That takes guts, kid, and you should win just for that. I actually didn't like the song, maybe because I had never heard it before. In fact, I don't even remember the name of the song. Not good. And the judges threw him under the bus for departing from tradition (but more on that later). And what were the producers thinking to light just half his face? Don't they know that next to the awesome voice, that man looks so good when he sings that to mess that up is to give the audience half of what they bargained for? I was so disappointed. I could tell he was giving the camera his sexyface, but it didn't translate because nobody could see his eyes! The ending drew me back in, though, with the way he completely fell apart in tears afterwards. He had wanted to sing that song all season and never got the chance. I applaud him for digging in and following his desire, even if it eventually could cost him the crown. I think the tears could have been his own realization of what he had just done. Or maybe it was just that the lyrics summed up the whole awesome experience. Paula gave a classic paulaism, which, corny as it is, actually summed it up, "You are standing there in your truth." Yeah. And ain't nobody going to push David Cook around. Can't wait to hear that first CD.

** UPDATE. I just watched the video for the original song. Wow! Cook is such a musical genius. Huge improvement. Forget what I said about not liking the performance.***



David Archuleta did leave me feeling like, song-for-song, he actually did better than Cook, considering the format and the expectations of the crowd. He belted, he blew, he held nothing back, he left all hundred pounds of himself there on the stage. As far as AI finals go, he got it done. But. I wouldn't go back to watch any of his performances. So, when it comes to a decision, is Archie what we want AI to continue to be? Haven't we seen that the crooners just don't go anywhere? Ok, so we've also seen that every AI winner puts out a garbage first record. Maybe Cook will break the trend. His "Analog Heart" CD shows that the boy has some serious writing skills.

All the while I have suspected that the producers of the show were just itching to crown David Cook, and then the judges pulled out all the stops and basically crowned Archie before the fact. Was it a case of throwing Cook under the bus so that his fans would vote like maniacs to keep him alive? If so, then I fell for that play on reverse psychology like a lead pipe and voted four hours straight for Cook until my fingers were cold and sore and the batteries of all my phones were dead. I'm not joking. Now can I just PLEASE. Move. On?? Get that monkey off my back!!

I still think Cook is going to win, anyway. And I really hope that AI uses his victory as a renewed shot at credibility and a chance to grow up.

The Wonders of Good Water Pressure

Speaking of things that make me happy...

Our old house has suffered from low water pressure ever since we bought it five years ago. It would have been nice if the inspector had pointed out this flaw before we bought it, but that's water under the bridge...

I developed all kinds of coping strategies to handle the deficit: don't flush, do laundry, or run the dishwasher when someone is showering; wash hands before flushing; turn off the washing machine before filling distiller; don't plant flowers that need water, etc. The house always seemed a little broken to me.

But coping was so second nature to me that I didn't notice that it could be a hardship for my guests. Until my Dad came into the kitchen, clearly frustrated, and said, "Just fix it. Fix it. You shouldn't have to live like this. I'll send you a check."

A month later, I have a new pipe from the main to the shut off valve and a sparkly-cleaned out copper pipe to the house. And ROARING water pressure. And I didn't expect that to make me as happy as I am! I'm giddy with excitement that my washing machine can hammer out a load in under an hour, that I can use something other than a rinky-dink low flow shower head, that I can plant flowers that need water, that I can flush immediately, that the distiller fills up in less than 15 seconds, and that the kids can have a full bath without waiting 20 minutes for it to fill up. The water bill might turn out to be colossal, so I'll have to develop strategies to cope with that, but for now I'm pleased as punch to have a stronger house.

Now I have to buy a sprinkler so the kids can play in it.

Happy Hundred - Stream of Consciousness Style

I got this idea from Marie, who published a super neat and informative list of a hundred things that make her happy. I've been muling over this one all day now, but because I've only got about ten minutes before I must go to bed, I'm going to hammer out a happy hundred for you off the top of my head, the value in it being not it's comprehensiveness, but just a tour of where my head went over the next ten minutes. Here goes:

Cobblestones
Confetti between the cobblestones
Daffodils in April
Dogwoods in May
The feeling of my kids' arms around me
The feeling of my husbands' arms around me
The view outside my kitchen window
Snow
Sailing
Visits from Mom
Visits from Dad
Impromptu overnight guests (like my brother in law last night)
Lunch with friends that flows into dinner
Exercising
Eating frosting out of the cup
Edging
Small, quiet chapels in foreign countries
Airplanes
Jasmine
Getting that perfect shot
Knowing I am loved
Alicia's voice
The way Dominic asks me to 'nuggle with him
The road trip to Houston
Tachi's food (especially the chicken casserole)
Hotels with fine bedding
Completing a project
American Idol (surprised?)
When Helena says, "I love my family"
When Monica squeals and jumps up and down
Sleeping with open windows (but not in Steubenville)
Talking, endlessly, with my husband
Crying at movies
When someone says, "What you said really stuck with me"
Learning from my mistakes
Forsythia
Auctions
Noticing the seasons change
Email
(how many is that? My time is up -- let's see...39) Ok, not bad. There's much more, but the problem is that I won't let myself construct the perfect list because it would consume my whole day. This will have to be good enough, just like all my posts which I don't really bother to edit or polish...

American Idol Top 4 Best

Last week's show was so bad that I didn't even post about it. Lynne asked for a recap, but I'm just going to give links. Best performance: David Cook. Biggest Gaffe Ever to Occur on Television Since Tom Cruise Jumped on Oprah's Couch, courtesy of Paula (context: the contestants had only sung one song up to that point).

OK, so moving on to this week. I'm one of those naive people who doesn't suspect that a show like American Idol is being influenced by the producers to encourage a certain outcome. But I'm beginning to have my doubts. I've said this before, that the producers must be praying -hard- that David Cook wins. He's the most marketable of the bunch, and, arguably, would be able to stand in the company of Kelly and Carrie as the most commercially successful Idols ever. Here's why last night's show made me think something is afoot. First, Chris Daughtry got eliminated in the top 4, and I think the Idol people were wishing he would have won. So, this year, to ensure an easy pass for David Cook, they made it "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" week. They just handed him a slam-dunk show. Second, he has never gone first, and statistically, the one who goes first has a much greater chance of going home (USA Today actually did an analysis of this phenomenon), but they put him first this time. It's ok, though, because it is a "slam-dunk show" for him, right? Third, the judges completely massacred Jason over and above what he deserved, as if to send a strong message to viewers, "You are an idiot if you vote for this guy." That ensures David Cook makes it past the psychological hump of the final four surprise elimination round. So maybe it is just a crackpot theory, but if it is true and it works, I'm glad, because, like Paula said last night, "I want more David Cook."

But here is where it got weird. David seemed just one step away from trying to throw in the towel. He seemed to cave in during a show that for all practical purposes was tailor made for him. He gave us a lackluster performance of Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf" which was so full of growling that I only heard his characteristic warm tone of voice once during the whole song. And what was he thinking to choose that song? The only thing good about it is the, then cutting-edge, video. Before his next song, as if in damage-control mode, Ryan interviewed David about his cruddy performance. David admits to not being completely on his game tonight, that the show kind of freaked him out this week. HUH?? David, they are GIVING you this show! How many fans were completely charged up to see you annihilate the competition and then dramatically let down? The only explanation is that he didn't want to look like a sure thing, because that's probably what killed Chris. Another theory might be what EW.com said in its recap:

"Rocker David himself admitted he could've done 'way more' with his paint-by-numbers cover of Duran Duran's 'Hungry Like the Wolf' — after all, nobody who rides the Idol train gets to pull the emergency brake and ask, 'What if the coronation song is worse than 'Do I Make You Proud'?"

Nonetheless, at best, he pulled in a decent second, but only on the merits of the next song.



It was nice to hear his real voice again. I'd probably pick this one as my favorite of the night, too, but only because I really, really don't like the other David, who, in fact, made a nice performance of "Love Me Tender" that had all the teeny-boppers swooning.

And one last thing. It looks like David Cook needs us housewives, at least according to Paul Geary, a musician manager who was interviewed by MTV.com about David Cook's predicted commercial success, post-Idol. He said:

"There are two kinds of fans: the music enthusiast, who buys albums, knows who's in the band and goes to shows and buys the T-shirt, and then there's the passive listener — the 'Oh, I like that song' types, the housewives. At some point, you peak out on the music enthusiasts anyway, so you need that passive audience."

A Note to Ryan Seacrest

Dear Ryan,

When my husband was five years old, his mother told him that a gentleman always carries a handkerchief and a comb in his pocket. And for the next thirty five years or so, my husband has heeded that little motherly admonition. In fact, he'll probably die with a comb and handkerchief in his pocket. I can't count the number of times I have been grateful that he has been so well-equipped, as I tend to cry often at Mass, where it is impractical to go hunting for a tissue.

Anyway, Ryan, this is about you. Would you please, for the sake at least of your female contestants (although David Cook probably would have accepted the gesture!) carry a hanky? Last night Syesha started bawling after her song, face completely drenched in tears, and Ryan had to yell to a stage hand to bring a tissue. And this was after at least a minute of waterworks. Come on! Ryan, I'd send you some hankys, but something tells me you can afford your own. As for the comb, you probably don't need to carry one of those, since there's somebody who is paid handsomely to make sure every little spike is perfectly placed.

Resurrexit, Alleluia

Thanks to my Apple genius husband, my iPod has been brought back to life. Apparently, there's some secret combination of buttons you can push that resets the beast.

Yipee!